In many jurisdictions, ticket quotas were one of those traditions like doughnuts – always around, but not on top of the desk where visitors could see. Quotas do have an upside since traffic tickets generate income through fines for municipalities. They also serve as an easy performance measuring device for supervisors in police departments, since they are based on verifiable numbers.

But the practice drew the ire of drivers who would often complain – unsuccessfully – that they were victims of an arbitrary rush on the part of police to meet a numerical goal. Some drivers argued that the number of tickets had risen at one point as a means of building public pressure to resolve tense labor negotiations between the police and the city.

Driving down an Illinois Toll road with traffic at 75 mph in a posted speed zone of 55 Mph says that there are no speed limits in the Chicago-land area. If you don't speed... stay with the pack you'll get run over... The body count on our National Highways dropped when President...

Quinn said the law, which was overwhelmingly backed by both houses of the legislature, will allow police to exercise judgment in deciding whether to ticket a driver rather than pursue a fixed number of citations during every shift. The law, which immediately went into effect, applies to local, county and state law enforcement officers.

“Law enforcement officers should have discretion on when and where to issue traffic citations and not be forced to ticket motorists to satisfy a quota system,” the governor said in a news release. “This new law will improve safety and working conditions for police officers and prevent motorists from facing unnecessary anxiety when they encounter a police vehicle.”

The Illinois law applies to the range of citations that police issue, including parking, speeding and other functions. It also specifically bars municipalities from using the number of tickets issued by an officer in performance reviews.

In a statement in April as the measure was still being discussed, John H. Kennedy, executive director of the Illinois Assn. of Chiefs of Police, issued a statement opposing the bill.

“While law enforcement executives strongly agree with eliminating the imposition of arbitrary traffic ticket quotas, the bill would also eliminate vital data-driven performance measures used to assist in the performance appraisal of police officers,” he stated, adding later: “This bill would essentially strip from law enforcement leaders the ability to establish expectations of officers and hold officers accountable for certain minimum performance standards.”

Amid heightened speculation about whether he will seek the Democratic presidential nomination, Vice President Joe Biden remains at least a month from a decision and has largely left preparatory work to a small circle of trusted longtime aides.

Perched in his wheelchair, "Big Jim" Blake confidently rolls the wooden floors of his old shoot-'em-up saloon, founded here in 1893. The history of the Cowboy Bar is populated with drifters, outlaws and outliers, and its present proprietor brims with wild yarns and tall tales.

President Obama will impose even steeper cuts on greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants than previously expected, White House officials said early Sunday, in what the president called the most significant step the country has ever taken to fight global warming.